Outsourcing Report template

Authors

Jolyon Miles-Wilson

Celestin Okoroji

Published

July 5, 2024

NOTE: In plots, where there is “n=”, this figure refers to the total number of respondents in the row/column. This presentation is somewhat misleading and will be changed in future iterations.

Chapter 1

Data already in directory. Loading it.

Using our working definition, how many of us could be described as outsourced?

According to our definition, 1 in 6 UK workers are outsourced.

Based on this definition, we’ve found that just under 17% of UK workers are ‘outsourced’1. Who makes up this group of 17% of UK workers?

In terms of the the different possible types of outsourced groups, the numbers are as follows:

  1. Definitely outsrouced: 11%
  2. Likely agency: 3%
  3. High indicators: 3%

!Placeholder for Venn diagram

Chapter 2: Who are the UK’s outsourced workers?

Top-line findings

Characteristics of outsourced work

Pay2

Outsourcing group Mean Median Min Max Standard dev.
Not outsourced 27106.73 25200.5 2000 66669 13309.13
Outsourced 25058.37 24000.0 2400 66108 13022.18

The distribution for the different outsourcing groups is shown below. It indicates that income is particularly low for the ‘outsourced’ and ‘likely agency’ workers, whilst average income for the ‘high indicators’ workers is notably higher. This means that, were we not to consider the high indicators group, the difference in income between outsrouced and non-outsourced workers would be larger.

Although the average pay between non-outsourced and outsourced workers looks similar, a t-test finds that there is a marginally significant difference; outsourced workers are on average paid less than non-outsourced workers (t(1506.89) = 3.94, p = 0).

We can explore income in more detail by applying a threshold by which we determine whether someone is low paid or high paid, and seeing what proportion of outsourced and non-outsourced workers fall into these groupings.

To do this, we first determine an appropriate threshold by which to split the income data. As a proxy for the official UK low payment threshold (which is set at 2/3 median hourly pay, see here), we use 2/3 median gross annual income. As an alternative, we also consider 80% median gross annual income as a higher threshold. We make use of the most recent Annual Survey of Hours and Earnings (ASHE) data to contextualise these figures. Median gross annual income is determined from the ASHE data as £29669.

The plot below displays the income data for each group with the ASHE percentiles and low-pay thresholds overlaid. The ‘two thirds’ threshold (19779.3333333) is almost exactly equal to the ASHE 25th percentile (19783), and is also close the 25th percentile for each group (closer for the non-outsourced than outsourced group). The ‘four fifths’ threshold sits closer to the outsourced group’s median, at 23735.2. The ASHE median income is 29669. Notably, the ASHE median is higher than the median income for both outsourced and non outsourced groups (though more distant from outsourced than non-outsourced median), and the ASHE 75th percentile is quite distant from the 75th percentile for each group.

Based on this plot, a four-fifths median value would make a good threshold for splitting pay. It sits almost halfway between the ASHE 25th and 50th percentiles and is close to the outsourced group’s median value. Examining the density suggests that the non outsourced and outsourced groups have different distributions of income below this threshold. The outsourced group exhibits a linearly depleting density, whereas the non-outsourced group exhibits a sharper drop-off around the ASHE 25th percentile. The pattern suggests that there may be qualitative differences to explore between the two groups in this income range. We there use the ‘four-fifths median’ value of £23735.2 as the threshold between low and high pay.

[1] 48.6641

Applying this threshold to the data reveals that, controlling for age, gender, ethnicity, arrival time in the UK, and region, an outsourced person is 1.55 times more likely to be in the low paid group than a non-outsourced person (see plot below). 49% of outsourced workers fall into the low-paid group, compared to 42% of non-outsourced workers.^[/outputs/data/income_group_summary.csv

Breaking outsourcing status down by outsourcing group reveals that only the ‘outsourced’ and ‘likely agency’ groups are more likely to be low paid, whilst the ‘high indicators’ group is no more or less likely to be low paid compared to the ‘not outsourced’ group.

  • ‘Outsourced’ workers are 1.66 times more likely to be in the low paid group than non-outsourced workers.
  • ‘Likely agency’ workers are 1.63 times more likely to be in the low paid group than non-outsourced workers.

The plot below illustrates this.

Notably, 51% of outsourced workers are low paid, and 51% of likely agency workers are low paid, whilst 37% are low paid. This indicates that over half of outsourced and agency workers are low paid, whilst the high indicator group is overall better paid (even than the not outsourced group, though not significantly so).

Below, we run a linear regression testing whether the relationship between outsourcing status and annual income is influenced by income group (not low vs low), controlling for age, gender, ethnicity, and region. We do indeed find a significant interaction effect. The figure below plots this.

income_group = Not low:
 outsourcing_status emmean    SE   df lower.CL upper.CL
 Not outsourced      69924 11600 7462    47185    92664
 Outsourced          97018 12041 7462    73414   120622

income_group = Low:
 outsourcing_status emmean    SE   df lower.CL upper.CL
 Not outsourced      29535 11667 7462     6664    52405
 Outsourced          28011 12301 7462     3898    52125

Results are averaged over the levels of: 1 nuisance factors, Gender, Ethnicity_collapsed, Region 
Confidence level used: 0.95

The results here indicate that among workers that are not paid below our low pay threshold, an outsourced worker can typically be expected to earn considerably more than a non-outsourced worker, whereas among workers that are paid below our low pay threshold, an outsourced worker can typically be expected to be paid the same as a non-outsourced worker (maybe slightly less). Of note is that for both pay groups, the variance in pay is higher for the outsourced group.

Exploring differences between outsourcing groups shows that this effect is driven mainly by the ‘outsourced’ group. In the non-low pay group, outsourced workers are paid more than non-outsourced workers, whereas in the low-pay group, outsourced workers are paid less than non-outsourced workers. For the likely agency and high indicator groups these differences do not apply.

income_group = Not low:
 outsourcing_group emmean    SE   df lower.CL upper.CL
 Not outsourced     69888 11604 7458    47141    92635
 Outsourced         97705 12345 7458    73505   121906
 Likely agency      95987 14733 7458    67106   124868
 High indicators    95492 14156 7458    67742   123243

income_group = Low:
 outsourcing_group emmean    SE   df lower.CL upper.CL
 Not outsourced     29499 11671 7458     6621    52377
 Outsourced         27879 12634 7458     3113    52644
 Likely agency      29160 15866 7458    -1942    60263
 High indicators    26975 17063 7458    -6473    60424

Results are averaged over the levels of: 1 nuisance factors, Gender, Ethnicity_collapsed, Region 
Confidence level used: 0.95

These findings in combination suggest that the relationship between outsourced work and income is not straightforward and rather that there are types of outsourced work that are high-paying and types of outsourced work that are low paying. In the next section we explore the types of jobs that are more common in outsourced work.

Sector

Sector within outsourcing status

This framing shows how outsourced and non-outsourced workers are distributed across sectors.

Not outsourced Outsourced
Accommodation and food service activities 433 93
Activities of extraterritorial organisations and bodies 4 0
Activities of households as employers 20 11
Administrative and support service activities 212 96
Agriculture, forestry and fishing 27 5
Arts, entertainment and recreation 155 25
Construction 265 75
Education 1021 141
Electricity, gas, steam and air conditioning supply 102 22
Financial and insurance activities 444 93
Human health and social work activities 1500 274
Information and communication 409 105
Manufacturing 683 120
Mining and quarrying 9 0
Na 86 12
Not found 21 11
Other service activities 230 60
Professional, scientific and technical activities 376 82
Public administration and defence 745 74
Real estate activities 103 16
Transportation and storage 377 93
Water supply 64 22
Wholesale and retail trade 1185 253

The plot below shows the sector breakdown by outsourcing status. I.e. this is how outsourced and not outsourced workers are distributed across sectors.3

Note

With this framing we could say things like “as an outsourced worker, you are x times more likely to work in than a non-outsourced worker”

number Sector
1 ACCOMMODATION AND FOOD SERVICE ACTIVITIES
2 ACTIVITIES OF EXTRATERRITORIAL ORGANISATIONS AND BODIES
3 ACTIVITIES OF HOUSEHOLDS AS EMPLOYERS; UNDIFFERENTIATED GOODS-AND SERVICES-PRODUCING ACTIVITIES OF HOUSEHOLDS FOR OWN US
4 ADMINISTRATIVE AND SUPPORT SERVICE ACTIVITIES
5 AGRICULTURE, FORESTRY AND FISHING
6 ARTS, ENTERTAINMENT AND RECREATION
7 CONSTRUCTION
8 EDUCATION
9 ELECTRICITY, GAS, STEAM AND AIR CONDITIONING SUPPLY
10 FINANCIAL AND INSURANCE ACTIVITIES
11 HUMAN HEALTH AND SOCIAL WORK ACTIVITIES
12 INFORMATION AND COMMUNICATION
13 MANUFACTURING
14 MINING AND QUARRYING
15 Not found
16 OTHER SERVICE ACTIVITIES
17 PROFESSIONAL, SCIENTIFIC AND TECHNICAL ACTIVITIES
18 PUBLIC ADMINISTRATION AND DEFENCE; COMPULSORY SOCIAL SECURITY
19 REAL ESTATE ACTIVITIES
20 TRANSPORTATION AND STORAGE
21 WATER SUPPLY; SEWERAGE, WASTE MANAGEMENT AND REMEDIATION ACTIVITIES
22 WHOLESALE AND RETAIL TRADE; REPAIR OF MOTOR VEHICLES AND MOTORCYCLES

The table below shows what percentage of outsourced and non-outsourced workers work in each sector, as well as the difference between them (positive numbers in the difference column indicate sectors that are more common for outsourced work, negative numbers indicate sectors that are less common for outsourced work).4

It indicates that sectors that are less common for outsourced workers compared to not outsourced are:

  • PUBLIC ADMINISTRATION AND DEFENCE; COMPULSORY SOCIAL SECURITY
  • EDUCATION

And sectors that are more common for outsourced workers compared to not outsourced are:

  • ADMINISTRATIVE AND SUPPORT SERVICE ACTIVITIES

For these sectors that differ most in the concentration of the outsourced workforce, there is a pattern (if three data points can be called that) whereby in sectors with a relatively higher concentration of outsourced workers, outsourced workers are paid less, and in sectors with a relatively lower concentration of outsourced workers, outsourced workers are paid more. This is tenuous, but it is an example of the heterogeneity in income between sectors, and should be explored further.

SectorName SectorName_short perc_Not outsourced perc_Outsourced perc_difference wtd_avg_income_Not outsourced wtd_avg_income_Outsourced income_difference
19 Public administration and defence 7.98 4.41 -3.57 44269.46 80688.11 36418.64
4 Administrative and support service activities 2.76 6.30 3.54 34008.23 25773.63 -8234.59
8 Education 11.00 8.17 -2.83 42664.00 66203.95 23539.95
13 Manufacturing 8.39 7.28 -1.10 47496.16 61992.04 14495.88
11 Human health and social work activities 16.74 15.81 -0.93 34943.28 37315.45 2372.18
21 Transportation and storage 4.86 5.79 0.93 50974.51 40399.44 -10575.07
7 Construction 3.22 4.13 0.91 57729.30 79257.70 21528.41
17 Other service activities 2.77 3.66 0.89 39021.24 49283.90 10262.65
22 Water supply 0.76 1.62 0.85 46514.17 50316.51 3802.34
1 Accommodation and food service activities 5.89 6.71 0.83 23814.49 46561.01 22746.52
12 Information and communication 4.58 5.32 0.74 63987.91 97333.04 33345.13
18 Professional, scientific and technical activities 3.92 4.66 0.74 53888.29 69683.01 15794.72
3 Activities of households as employers 0.31 0.86 0.54 57350.92 21162.34 -36188.59
23 Wholesale and retail trade 15.43 14.93 -0.49 36426.50 59181.02 22754.52
16 Not found 0.30 0.68 0.38 30372.90 30421.16 48.26
20 Real estate activities 1.25 0.97 -0.29 39630.78 27557.00 -12073.78
6 Arts, entertainment and recreation 1.81 1.61 -0.20 26930.44 21607.35 -5323.09
5 Agriculture, forestry and fishing 0.42 0.22 -0.20 36423.88 25767.70 -10656.18
9 Electricity, gas, steam and air conditioning supply 1.21 1.32 0.10 84854.37 73130.20 -11724.17
10 Financial and insurance activities 4.91 4.81 -0.10 62097.41 143214.64 81117.23
2 Activities of extraterritorial organisations and bodies 0.04 NA NA 32367.32 NA NA
14 Mining and quarrying 0.10 NA NA 54859.57 NA NA

The plot below plots the percentage difference in the concentration of outsourced vs non-outsourced workers (i.e. the difference between what proportion of workers of each type are in each sector) against the income difference for that sector (i.e., the difference in the average income between groups). Note that a statistical test of this relationship shows it is non-significant. This plot therefore only serves as an illustration of where workers are situated in terms of sector and pay. A key takeaway here is that there is considerable variation in the difference in pay between outsourced and non-outsourced workers. There also appears to be a central area where the concentration of outsourced vs non-outsourced workers is quite similar, but the pay for outsourced workers is lower. This might indicate sectors where employment of outsourced workers is as common as employment of non-outsourced workers, but where outsourced workers are paid less than non-outsourced workers. These sectors are:

  • 5: AGRICULTURE, FORESTRY AND FISHING
  • 6: ARTS, ENTERTAINMENT AND RECREATION
  • 9: ELECTRICITY, GAS, STEAM AND AIR CONDITIONING SUPPLY
  • 20: REAL ESTATE ACTIVITIES

Outsourcing status within sector5

This framing shows how sectors are composed, i.e., what proportion of workers in each sector are outsourced vs non-outsourced.

The plot below shows the proportion of outsourced and not outsourced workers within each sector. I.e. this is showing what sectors have higher and lower proportions of outsourced workers.

Note

With this framing we could say things like “sector a is x times more likely to employ outsourced workers than sector b”

The table below shows the percentage of outsourced workers in each Sector, ordered descending by percentage. It shows that the top three Sectors with the highest proportion of outsourced workers are:

  • ACTIVITIES OF HOUSEHOLDS AS EMPLOYERS; UNDIFFERENTIATED GOODS-AND SERVICES-PRODUCING ACTIVITIES OF HOUSEHOLDS FOR OWN US (note that N = 31)
  • ADMINISTRATIVE AND SUPPORT SERVICE ACTIVITIES
  • WATER SUPPLY; SEWERAGE, WASTE MANAGEMENT AND REMEDIATION ACTIVITIES

Note that for an undefined sector (‘Not found’) contained one of the largest proportions of outsourced workers (31% of workers in the ‘Not found’ category were outsourced).

SectorName SectorName_labelled perc
3 ACTIVITIES OF HOUSEHOLDS AS EMPLOYERS; UNDIFFERENTIATED GOODS-AND SERVICES-PRODUCING ACTIVITIES OF HOUSEHOLDS FOR OWN US 35.652378
4 ADMINISTRATIVE AND SUPPORT SERVICE ACTIVITIES 31.570055
16 Not found 31.317619
22 WATER SUPPLY; SEWERAGE, WASTE MANAGEMENT AND REMEDIATION ACTIVITIES 30.008923
17 OTHER SERVICE ACTIVITIES 21.102417
7 CONSTRUCTION 20.589291
21 TRANSPORTATION AND STORAGE 19.415919
18 PROFESSIONAL, SCIENTIFIC AND TECHNICAL ACTIVITIES 19.369714
12 INFORMATION AND COMMUNICATION 19.034279
1 ACCOMMODATION AND FOOD SERVICE ACTIVITIES 18.738635
9 ELECTRICITY, GAS, STEAM AND AIR CONDITIONING SUPPLY 18.008232
10 FINANCIAL AND INSURANCE ACTIVITIES 16.529705
23 WHOLESALE AND RETAIL TRADE; REPAIR OF MOTOR VEHICLES AND MOTORCYCLES 16.373830
11 HUMAN HEALTH AND SOCIAL WORK ACTIVITIES 16.037739
6 ARTS, ENTERTAINMENT AND RECREATION 15.255060
13 MANUFACTURING 14.939669
20 REAL ESTATE ACTIVITIES 13.504099
8 EDUCATION 13.065534
19 PUBLIC ADMINISTRATION AND DEFENCE; COMPULSORY SOCIAL SECURITY 10.051123
5 AGRICULTURE, FORESTRY AND FISHING 9.709408

Exploring this workforce makeup in the context of income shows that there are some sectors where outsourced workers are paid more and some where they are paid less than non-outsourced workers. The plot below visualises this.

Sectors where outsourced workers are paid less:

  • ACTIVITIES OF HOUSEHOLDS AS EMPLOYERS; UNDIFFERENTIATED GOODS-AND SERVICES-PRODUCING ACTIVITIES OF HOUSEHOLDS FOR OWN US (note that N = 31)
  • ADMINISTRATIVE AND SUPPORT SERVICE ACTIVITIES (note that N = 32)
  • AGRICULTURE, FORESTRY AND FISHING
  • ARTS, ENTERTAINMENT AND RECREATION
  • ELECTRICITY, GAS, STEAM AND AIR CONDITIONING SUPPLY
  • PUBLIC ADMINISTRATION AND DEFENCE; COMPULSORY SOCIAL SECURITY
  • REAL ESTATE ACTIVITIES
  • WATER SUPPLY; SEWERAGE, WASTE MANAGEMENT AND REMEDIATION ACTIVITIES

Sectors where outsourced workers are paid more:

  • ACCOMMODATION AND FOOD SERVICE ACTIVITIES
  • CONSTRUCTION
  • EDUCATION
  • INFORMATION AND COMMUNICATION
  • MANUFACTURING
  • Not found
  • OTHER SERVICE ACTIVITIES
  • PROFESSIONAL, SCIENTIFIC AND TECHNICAL ACTIVITIES
  • REAL ESTATE ACTIVITIES

Note that in 2 or 3 of the Sectors where outsourced workers are paid less are low-paying Sectors. (this needs to be double-checked)

Apply the paysplit6

The percentages below show be read as e.g. 20% of low paid workers in accommodation and food services are outsourced, compared to 16% of not low paid workers in accommodation and food services.

statistically speaking

The table and plot below show the results of a model predicting income group from sector and outsourcing status. They specifically show the sectors where outsourced people are more or less likely to be in the low income group versus the not low income group.

The sectors where outsourced people, compared to non-outsourced people, are more likely to be in the low income group are Administrative and support service activities, Human health and social work activities, Manufacturing, Public administration and defence, Transportation and storage, whilst sectors where outsourced people are less likely to be in the low income group are Wholesale and retail trade.

contrast SectorName_short estimate SE df z.ratio p.value or
4 Not outsourced - Outsourced Administrative and support service activities -0.5241628 0.2464021 Inf -2.127266 0.0333980 0.5920508
11 Not outsourced - Outsourced Human health and social work activities -0.3377209 0.1425647 Inf -2.368895 0.0178413 0.7133944
13 Not outsourced - Outsourced Manufacturing -0.8072450 0.2118374 Inf -3.810682 0.0001386 0.4460853
19 Not outsourced - Outsourced Public administration and defence -0.6881532 0.2806935 Inf -2.451618 0.0142216 0.5025033
21 Not outsourced - Outsourced Transportation and storage -0.7219743 0.2437603 Inf -2.961821 0.0030583 0.4857922
23 Not outsourced - Outsourced Wholesale and retail trade 0.3754106 0.1453131 Inf 2.583460 0.0097815 1.4555890

Sector repeat: Outsourcing group

The plot below shows the distribution of sectors within each outsourcing group. The standout differences are:

  • Greater proprotion of HUMAN HEALTH AND SOCIAL WORK ACTIVITIES in the ‘likely agency’ category, compared to other groups
  • Greater proprotion of CONSTRUCTION in the ‘likely agency’ category, compared to other groups
  • Greater proportion of ADMINISTRATIVE AND SUPPORT SERVICE ACTIVITIES in the ‘outsourced’ category, compared to other groups
  • Greater proportion of WHOLESALE AND RETAIL TRADE; REPAIR OF MOTOR VEHICLES AND MOTORCYCLES in the ‘high indicators’ category, compared to other groups

(Really, this plot is better for showing the makeup of each type of outsroucing group - comparisons aer better made comparing outsroucing group within sectors. Here is a better way of interpeting these plots):

For the high indicator group, the sector with the largest proprotion of workers was WHOLESALE AND RETAIL TRADE; REPAIR OF MOTOR VEHICLES AND MOTORCYCLES, closely followed by HUMAN HEALTH AND SOCIAL WORK ACTIVITIES.

For the likely agency group, the sector with the largest proprotion of workers was HUMAN HEALTH AND SOCIAL WORK ACTIVITIES.

For the outsourced group, the sector with the largest proprotion of workers was WHOLESALE AND RETAIL TRADE; REPAIR OF MOTOR VEHICLES AND MOTORCYCLES, closely followed by HUMAN HEALTH AND SOCIAL WORK ACTIVITIES.

Note that also for the not outsourced group, the sector with the largest proprotion of workers was HUMAN HEALTH AND SOCIAL WORK ACTIVITIES, closely followed by WHOLESALE AND RETAIL TRADE; REPAIR OF MOTOR VEHICLES AND MOTORCYCLES.

[This might say something about the demographics of the people who were sampled in this survey]

number Sector
1 ACCOMMODATION AND FOOD SERVICE ACTIVITIES
2 ACTIVITIES OF EXTRATERRITORIAL ORGANISATIONS AND BODIES
3 ACTIVITIES OF HOUSEHOLDS AS EMPLOYERS; UNDIFFERENTIATED GOODS-AND SERVICES-PRODUCING ACTIVITIES OF HOUSEHOLDS FOR OWN US
4 ADMINISTRATIVE AND SUPPORT SERVICE ACTIVITIES
5 AGRICULTURE, FORESTRY AND FISHING
6 ARTS, ENTERTAINMENT AND RECREATION
7 CONSTRUCTION
8 EDUCATION
9 ELECTRICITY, GAS, STEAM AND AIR CONDITIONING SUPPLY
10 FINANCIAL AND INSURANCE ACTIVITIES
11 HUMAN HEALTH AND SOCIAL WORK ACTIVITIES
12 INFORMATION AND COMMUNICATION
13 MANUFACTURING
14 MINING AND QUARRYING
15 Not found
16 OTHER SERVICE ACTIVITIES
17 PROFESSIONAL, SCIENTIFIC AND TECHNICAL ACTIVITIES
18 PUBLIC ADMINISTRATION AND DEFENCE; COMPULSORY SOCIAL SECURITY
19 REAL ESTATE ACTIVITIES
20 TRANSPORTATION AND STORAGE
21 WATER SUPPLY; SEWERAGE, WASTE MANAGEMENT AND REMEDIATION ACTIVITIES
22 WHOLESALE AND RETAIL TRADE; REPAIR OF MOTOR VEHICLES AND MOTORCYCLES
outsourcing_group SectorName SectorName_labelled perc
Not outsourced 11 HUMAN HEALTH AND SOCIAL WORK ACTIVITIES 16.7360613
Not outsourced 23 WHOLESALE AND RETAIL TRADE; REPAIR OF MOTOR VEHICLES AND MOTORCYCLES 15.4267755
Not outsourced 8 EDUCATION 10.9976142
Not outsourced 13 MANUFACTURING 8.3872365
Not outsourced 19 PUBLIC ADMINISTRATION AND DEFENCE; COMPULSORY SOCIAL SECURITY 7.9832203
Not outsourced 1 ACCOMMODATION AND FOOD SERVICE ACTIVITIES 5.8872856
Not outsourced 10 FINANCIAL AND INSURANCE ACTIVITIES 4.9095444
Not outsourced 21 TRANSPORTATION AND STORAGE 4.8584753
Not outsourced 12 INFORMATION AND COMMUNICATION 4.5805150
Not outsourced 18 PROFESSIONAL, SCIENTIFIC AND TECHNICAL ACTIVITIES 3.9235934
Not outsourced 7 CONSTRUCTION 3.2214668
Not outsourced 17 OTHER SERVICE ACTIVITIES 2.7676269
Not outsourced 4 ADMINISTRATIVE AND SUPPORT SERVICE ACTIVITIES 2.7603460
Not outsourced 6 ARTS, ENTERTAINMENT AND RECREATION 1.8053220
Not outsourced 20 REAL ESTATE ACTIVITIES 1.2521925
Not outsourced 9 ELECTRICITY, GAS, STEAM AND AIR CONDITIONING SUPPLY 1.2117371
Not outsourced 22 WATER SUPPLY; SEWERAGE, WASTE MANAGEMENT AND REMEDIATION ACTIVITIES 0.7627515
Not outsourced 5 AGRICULTURE, FORESTRY AND FISHING 0.4225971
Not outsourced 3 ACTIVITIES OF HOUSEHOLDS AS EMPLOYERS; UNDIFFERENTIATED GOODS-AND SERVICES-PRODUCING ACTIVITIES OF HOUSEHOLDS FOR OWN US 0.3123761
Not outsourced 16 Not found 0.3030015
Not outsourced 14 MINING AND QUARRYING 0.1034233
Not outsourced 2 ACTIVITIES OF EXTRATERRITORIAL ORGANISATIONS AND BODIES 0.0431916
Outsourced 23 WHOLESALE AND RETAIL TRADE; REPAIR OF MOTOR VEHICLES AND MOTORCYCLES 14.8186202
Outsourced 11 HUMAN HEALTH AND SOCIAL WORK ACTIVITIES 14.1182403
Outsourced 8 EDUCATION 8.6944943
Outsourced 13 MANUFACTURING 7.1682245
Outsourced 4 ADMINISTRATIVE AND SUPPORT SERVICE ACTIVITIES 7.1400736
Outsourced 1 ACCOMMODATION AND FOOD SERVICE ACTIVITIES 6.7289225
Outsourced 21 TRANSPORTATION AND STORAGE 5.5518952
Outsourced 12 INFORMATION AND COMMUNICATION 5.2270278
Outsourced 18 PROFESSIONAL, SCIENTIFIC AND TECHNICAL ACTIVITIES 5.1295921
Outsourced 10 FINANCIAL AND INSURANCE ACTIVITIES 4.8852436
Outsourced 19 PUBLIC ADMINISTRATION AND DEFENCE; COMPULSORY SOCIAL SECURITY 4.6701148
Outsourced 17 OTHER SERVICE ACTIVITIES 4.0418607
Outsourced 7 CONSTRUCTION 3.6893071
Outsourced 22 WATER SUPPLY; SEWERAGE, WASTE MANAGEMENT AND REMEDIATION ACTIVITIES 1.7774160
Outsourced 6 ARTS, ENTERTAINMENT AND RECREATION 1.6604915
Outsourced 9 ELECTRICITY, GAS, STEAM AND AIR CONDITIONING SUPPLY 1.2565601
Outsourced 3 ACTIVITIES OF HOUSEHOLDS AS EMPLOYERS; UNDIFFERENTIATED GOODS-AND SERVICES-PRODUCING ACTIVITIES OF HOUSEHOLDS FOR OWN US 0.9852412
Outsourced 20 REAL ESTATE ACTIVITIES 0.8869119
Outsourced 16 Not found 0.6672183
Outsourced 5 AGRICULTURE, FORESTRY AND FISHING 0.2801044
Likely agency 11 HUMAN HEALTH AND SOCIAL WORK ACTIVITIES 22.3782074
Likely agency 23 WHOLESALE AND RETAIL TRADE; REPAIR OF MOTOR VEHICLES AND MOTORCYCLES 11.7348709
Likely agency 1 ACCOMMODATION AND FOOD SERVICE ACTIVITIES 9.5233357
Likely agency 13 MANUFACTURING 7.7512619
Likely agency 7 CONSTRUCTION 6.8292108
Likely agency 8 EDUCATION 5.9626362
Likely agency 21 TRANSPORTATION AND STORAGE 5.5687150
Likely agency 12 INFORMATION AND COMMUNICATION 5.1177601
Likely agency 4 ADMINISTRATIVE AND SUPPORT SERVICE ACTIVITIES 5.0349824
Likely agency 19 PUBLIC ADMINISTRATION AND DEFENCE; COMPULSORY SOCIAL SECURITY 4.9276124
Likely agency 10 FINANCIAL AND INSURANCE ACTIVITIES 4.2492270
Likely agency 18 PROFESSIONAL, SCIENTIFIC AND TECHNICAL ACTIVITIES 2.5851476
Likely agency 17 OTHER SERVICE ACTIVITIES 1.8324543
Likely agency 6 ARTS, ENTERTAINMENT AND RECREATION 1.6318044
Likely agency 22 WATER SUPPLY; SEWERAGE, WASTE MANAGEMENT AND REMEDIATION ACTIVITIES 1.2974489
Likely agency 9 ELECTRICITY, GAS, STEAM AND AIR CONDITIONING SUPPLY 1.1617726
Likely agency 3 ACTIVITIES OF HOUSEHOLDS AS EMPLOYERS; UNDIFFERENTIATED GOODS-AND SERVICES-PRODUCING ACTIVITIES OF HOUSEHOLDS FOR OWN US 0.9038069
Likely agency 16 Not found 0.7203230
Likely agency 20 REAL ESTATE ACTIVITIES 0.5694658
Likely agency 5 AGRICULTURE, FORESTRY AND FISHING 0.2199565
High indicators 23 WHOLESALE AND RETAIL TRADE; REPAIR OF MOTOR VEHICLES AND MOTORCYCLES 18.4511626
High indicators 11 HUMAN HEALTH AND SOCIAL WORK ACTIVITIES 16.5456358
High indicators 8 EDUCATION 8.1099485
High indicators 13 MANUFACTURING 7.3160094
High indicators 21 TRANSPORTATION AND STORAGE 6.9715309
High indicators 12 INFORMATION AND COMMUNICATION 5.9221553
High indicators 10 FINANCIAL AND INSURANCE ACTIVITIES 5.0133674
High indicators 18 PROFESSIONAL, SCIENTIFIC AND TECHNICAL ACTIVITIES 4.6896460
High indicators 4 ADMINISTRATIVE AND SUPPORT SERVICE ACTIVITIES 4.0053150
High indicators 1 ACCOMMODATION AND FOOD SERVICE ACTIVITIES 3.9750691
High indicators 17 OTHER SERVICE ACTIVITIES 3.8158394
High indicators 7 CONSTRUCTION 3.3883241
High indicators 19 PUBLIC ADMINISTRATION AND DEFENCE; COMPULSORY SOCIAL SECURITY 2.8467744
High indicators 9 ELECTRICITY, GAS, STEAM AND AIR CONDITIONING SUPPLY 1.7075018
High indicators 20 REAL ESTATE ACTIVITIES 1.6732156
High indicators 6 ARTS, ENTERTAINMENT AND RECREATION 1.3609799
High indicators 22 WATER SUPPLY; SEWERAGE, WASTE MANAGEMENT AND REMEDIATION ACTIVITIES 1.2566393
High indicators 16 Not found 0.7135371
High indicators 3 ACTIVITIES OF HOUSEHOLDS AS EMPLOYERS; UNDIFFERENTIATED GOODS-AND SERVICES-PRODUCING ACTIVITIES OF HOUSEHOLDS FOR OWN US 0.2744929

13/05 MORE TO DO HERE FOR SECTOR AS ABOVE

Paysplit - sector x outsourcing group

7

statistically speaking

The table and plot below show the results of a model predicting income group from sector and outsourcing group. The comparisons indicate that only a few differences between outsourced and not outsourced people were significant. Specifically, the sectors where outsourced people, compared to non-outsourced people, are more likely to be in the low income group are Education, Manufacturing, Public administration and defence, Transportation and storage.

Notably, education features here where it did not in the overall outsourcing status comparison. Inspection of the plot below shows that this is because there are no differences between high indicators, likely agency, and not outsourced people in education.

The other sectors identified here all featured in the outsourcing status comparison earlier. The sectors that were relevant for the status comparison but absent here are Admin support, Human health and social work, and wholesale retail and trade.

The difference for admin supp

The difference for social work seems to be due to agency workers and outsourced being higher (i.e., separating them dilutes the effect )

contrast SectorName_short estimate SE df z.ratio p.value or
43 Not outsourced - Outsourced Education -0.6563763 0.2432472 Inf -2.698392 0.0351346 0.5187277
73 Not outsourced - Outsourced Manufacturing -0.8401625 0.2530652 Inf -3.319945 0.0049874 0.4316404
109 Not outsourced - Outsourced Public administration and defence -0.8874326 0.3229445 Inf -2.747942 0.0305411 0.4117114
121 Not outsourced - Outsourced Transportation and storage -0.9250865 0.2850880 Inf -3.244916 0.0064541 0.3964971

Major group code

Comparison of Majorgroupcode indicates that a higher proportion of outsourced people work in Elementary Occupations, compared to non-outsourced people. A lower proportion of outsourced people work in administrative and secretarial occupations, associate professional occupations and professional occupations.

number Major.group.code
1 ADMINISTRATIVE AND SECRETARIAL OCCUPATIONS
2 ASSOCIATE PROFESSIONAL OCCUPATIONS
3 CARING, LEISURE AND OTHER SERVICE OCCUPATIONS
4 ELEMENTARY OCCUPATIONS
5 MANAGERS, DIRECTORS AND SENIOR OFFICIALS
6 NA
7 PROCESS, PLANT AND MACHINE OPERATIVES
8 PROFESSIONAL OCCUPATIONS
9 SALES AND CUSTOMER SERVICE OCCUPATIONS
10 SKILLED TRADES OCCUPATIONS
11 NA

The table below shows the percentage of outsourced and non-outsourced workers in each majorgroupcode, as well as the difference between them (positive numbers in the difference column indicate occupations that are more common for outsourced work, negative numbers indicate occupations that are less common for outsourced work).8

Majorgroupcode Not outsourced Outsourced Difference
ADMINISTRATIVE AND SECRETARIAL OCCUPATIONS 14.09 10.23 -3.85
ASSOCIATE PROFESSIONAL OCCUPATIONS 13.23 9.35 -3.88
CARING, LEISURE AND OTHER SERVICE OCCUPATIONS 8.85 10.00 1.14
ELEMENTARY OCCUPATIONS 8.84 17.12 8.28
MANAGERS, DIRECTORS AND SENIOR OFFICIALS 11.07 12.23 1.16
NA 0.41 0.29 -0.12
PROCESS, PLANT AND MACHINE OPERATIVES 6.19 6.99 0.80
PROFESSIONAL OCCUPATIONS 19.92 17.57 -2.35
SALES AND CUSTOMER SERVICE OCCUPATIONS 12.06 10.97 -1.10
SKILLED TRADES OCCUPATIONS 5.32 5.24 -0.07
NA 0.01 NA NA
Majorgroupcode Not outsourced Outsourced Ratio_10
ADMINISTRATIVE AND SECRETARIAL OCCUPATIONS 87.19 12.81 1.47
ASSOCIATE PROFESSIONAL OCCUPATIONS 87.49 12.51 1.43
CARING, LEISURE AND OTHER SERVICE OCCUPATIONS 81.41 18.59 2.28
ELEMENTARY OCCUPATIONS 71.86 28.14 3.92
MANAGERS, DIRECTORS AND SENIOR OFFICIALS 81.73 18.27 2.24
NA 87.59 12.41 1.42
PROCESS, PLANT AND MACHINE OPERATIVES 81.41 18.59 2.28
PROFESSIONAL OCCUPATIONS 84.86 15.14 1.78
SALES AND CUSTOMER SERVICE OCCUPATIONS 84.47 15.53 1.84
SKILLED TRADES OCCUPATIONS 83.37 16.63 1.99

The plot below summarises the average pay (x-axis) in each occupation (y-axis) for outsourced and non-outsourced workers (dot colour), as well as the size of the respective workforce (size of dots). Here the size of the dot represents the percentage of workers within the sector who are outsourced (blue) or not outsourced (purple).9

It shows, as might be expected, the size of the outsourced workforce for each sector is smaller than the non-outsourced workforce, but the ratio is not the same for all sectors. The sector with the largest non-outsourced:outsourced ratio is Elementary occupations; for every 10 non-outsourced workers, there are 4 outsourced workers. This is followed by caring, leisure, and other service occupations, and process, plant and machine operatives, both of which employ 2 outsourced workers for every 10 non-outsourced workers.

Notably, in elementary occupations and sales and customer service occupations, outsourced workers are on average paid more than non-outsourced workers. In contrast, workers in process, plant and machine operations are paid less if they are outsourced than if they are not outsourced.

Unit occupations

A deep dive into elementary occupations, process occupations, and caring occupations reveals that there are differences between occupations in the size of the outsourced workforce and pay.

Elementary occupations10

Process occupations11

Caring occupations12

Where are the UK’s outsourced workers?13

Let’s cross check the size of the employed workforce across regions, and compare this to how many people are in each region in our sample. The percentages should work out the same if they’re weighted.

The tables below show that our sample is weighted by region. The weighted percentage of our sampled workers in each region matches the percentages from the ONS employment by region tables. This means that the weighted percentage of workers (and therefore outsourced workers) in our sample can be considered to be representative of the national picture.

Region Employed sample_sum employment_data_perc sample_wtd_perc
London 4829298851 1431.0519 14.557314 14.092092
South East 4753437758 1420.8114 14.328640 13.991250
North West 3583507881 1095.8237 10.802034 10.790977
West Midlands 2882955040 879.5148 8.690305 8.660903
Scotland 2650815533 853.0980 7.990550 8.400768
South West 2802120873 837.8587 8.446641 8.250701
East Midlands 2359055655 728.1845 7.111077 7.170699
Wales 1436559071 461.0781 4.330327 4.540405
North East 1215820684 386.9397 3.664938 3.810337
Northern Ireland 873773187 275.2233 2.633879 2.710224

The plot below shows the distribution of outsourced and non outsourced workers across regions. It suggests that an outsourced worker is more likely to be based in London than a non-outsourced worker. The plot can be read, e.g., “~20% of outsourced workers work in London”

Outsourcing status Region Frequency Sum Percentage
Not outsourced London 1073.70 8446.64 12.71
Not outsourced East Midlands 587.69 8446.64 6.96
Not outsourced East of England 841.35 8446.64 9.96
Not outsourced North East 333.88 8446.64 3.95
Not outsourced North West 906.43 8446.64 10.73
Not outsourced Northern Ireland 231.66 8446.64 2.74
Not outsourced Scotland 727.28 8446.64 8.61
Not outsourced South East 1232.34 8446.64 14.59
Not outsourced South West 717.36 8446.64 8.49
Not outsourced Wales 377.83 8446.64 4.47
Not outsourced West Midlands 718.03 8446.64 8.50
Not outsourced Yorkshire and the Humber 699.11 8446.64 8.28
Outsourced London 357.35 1708.36 20.92
Outsourced East Midlands 140.50 1708.36 8.22
Outsourced East of England 125.49 1708.36 7.35
Outsourced North East 53.06 1708.36 3.11
Outsourced North West 189.39 1708.36 11.09
Outsourced Northern Ireland 43.56 1708.36 2.55
Outsourced Scotland 125.82 1708.36 7.37
Outsourced South East 188.47 1708.36 11.03
Outsourced South West 120.50 1708.36 7.05
Outsourced Wales 83.25 1708.36 4.87
Outsourced West Midlands 161.49 1708.36 9.45
Outsourced Yorkshire and the Humber 119.46 1708.36 6.99

To visualise this differently, below we calculate the proportion of workers within each region who are outsourced. The plot can be read e.g., “~25% of workers in London are outsourced.”14

Below we map the workforce composition in each region (i.e., these figures correspond to the second of the two plots above). The first map emphasises that London has the highest concentration of outsourced workers (25%).

2024-06-21T14:45:45.707634 image/svg+xml Matplotlib v3.8.2, https://matplotlib.org/

The second map excludes London so that is easier to see how the remaining regions compare. After London, the regions with the highest proportion of outsourced workers are:

  1. East Midlands (19%)
  2. West Midlands (18%)
  3. Wales (18%)
  4. North West (17%)
  5. Northern Ireland (16%)

2024-06-21T14:45:46.107661 image/svg+xml Matplotlib v3.8.2, https://matplotlib.org/

We can also explore how the the entire UK workforce is distributed across the country.15 The table and map below show the percentage of outsourced workers in each region as a proportion of the total UK workforce. They show where the UK’s outsourced workforce is concentrated. The regions with the highest share of the UK’s outsourced workforce are:

  1. London (21%)
  2. North West (11%)
  3. South East (11%)
  4. West Midlands (9%)
  5. East Midlands (8%)
Region Frequency Sum Percentage
London 357.35 1708.36 20.92
North West 189.39 1708.36 11.09
South East 188.47 1708.36 11.03
West Midlands 161.49 1708.36 9.45
East Midlands 140.50 1708.36 8.22
Scotland 125.82 1708.36 7.37
East of England 125.49 1708.36 7.35
South West 120.50 1708.36 7.05
Yorkshire and the Humber 119.46 1708.36 6.99
Wales 83.25 1708.36 4.87
North East 53.06 1708.36 3.11
Northern Ireland 43.56 1708.36 2.55

2024-06-21T14:45:46.548602 image/svg+xml Matplotlib v3.8.2, https://matplotlib.org/

Who are the UK’s outsourced workers?

To start with, we can create a generalised linear model predicting outsourcing status from the various demographics. Outsourcing status is a binary variable that groups people as either ‘outsourced’ or ‘not outsourced’.

We construct a generalised linear models to predicting outsourcing status. The model has the following terms:

  • Age
  • Ethnicity
  • Arrival in UK
  • Gender
  • Region
  outsourcing_status
Predictors Odds Ratios CI p
(Intercept) 0.46 0.37 – 0.58 <0.001
Age 0.98 0.98 – 0.98 <0.001
Ethnicity_collapsedWhite other 0.79 0.59 – 1.05 0.103
Ethnicity_collapsedBlack Caribbean 0.89 0.54 – 1.42 0.653
Ethnicity_collapsedBlack African 1.56 1.14 – 2.12 0.005
Ethnicity_collapsedMixed other 1.59 0.97 – 2.54 0.058
Ethnicity_collapsedSouth Asian 1.43 1.14 – 1.78 0.001
Ethnicity_collapsedEast Asian 0.61 0.36 – 0.97 0.046
Ethnicity_collapsedOther 1.23 0.97 – 1.54 0.081
Ethnicity_collapsedBlack other 1.85 0.88 – 3.70 0.091
Ethnicity_collapsedArab 1.94 0.90 – 4.03 0.079
BORNUK_labelledWithin the last year 1.75 1.18 – 2.56 0.005
BORNUK_labelledWithin the last 3 years 1.07 0.72 – 1.57 0.719
BORNUK_labelledWithin the last 5 years 1.20 0.80 – 1.78 0.362
BORNUK_labelledWithin the last 10 years 1.95 1.43 – 2.64 <0.001
BORNUK_labelledWithin the last 15 years 1.84 1.30 – 2.59 <0.001
BORNUK_labelledWithin the last 20 years 1.83 1.27 – 2.62 0.001
BORNUK_labelledWithin the last 30 years 0.54 0.28 – 0.95 0.044
BORNUK_labelledMore than 30 years ago 2.08 1.47 – 2.91 <0.001
BORNUK_labelledPrefer not to say 1.12 0.70 – 1.75 0.617
GenderMale 1.41 1.27 – 1.57 <0.001
GenderOther 1.17 0.24 – 3.88 0.818
GenderPrefer not to say 0.77 0.32 – 1.59 0.514
RegionEast Midlands 0.91 0.73 – 1.15 0.445
RegionEast of England 0.59 0.46 – 0.74 <0.001
RegionNorth East 0.63 0.45 – 0.86 0.005
RegionNorth West 0.84 0.68 – 1.04 0.104
RegionNorthern Ireland 0.79 0.55 – 1.12 0.200
RegionScotland 0.69 0.54 – 0.87 0.002
RegionSouth East 0.61 0.49 – 0.75 <0.001
RegionSouth West 0.67 0.53 – 0.85 0.001
RegionWales 0.87 0.65 – 1.14 0.313
RegionWest Midlands 0.84 0.67 – 1.04 0.104
RegionYorkshire and the Humber 0.66 0.52 – 0.83 0.001
Observations 10155
R2 Tjur 0.042

The results show that a person is more likely to outsourced if they:

  • Are younger (compared to older); for each year older a person is, they are 0.98 times as likely (i.e., less likely) to be outsourced.
  • Are African or South Asian (compared to White British);
    • Black African people are 1.56 times more likely than White people to be outsourced.
    • South Asian people are 1.43 times more likely than White people to be outsourced.
    • In contrast, East Asian people are 0.61 times as likely (i.e., less likely) than White people to be outsourced.
  • Moved to the UK in last year, 10 years, 15 years, 20 years, 30 years, or more than 30 years (compared to born in UK)
    • People who moved to the UK in the last year are 1.75 times more likely to be outsourced than people born in the UK.
    • People who moved to the UK in the last 10 years are 1.95 times more likely to be outsourced than people born in the UK.
    • People who moved to the UK in the last 15 years are 1.84 times more likely to be outsourced than people born in the UK.
    • People who moved to the UK in the last 20 years are 1.83 times more likely to be outsourced than people born in the UK.
    • People who moved to the UK more than 30 years ago are 2.08 times more likely to be outsourced than people born in the UK.
    • In contrast, people who moved to the UK in the last 30 years are 0.54 times as likely (i.e., less likely) to be outsourced than people born in the UK.
  • Are male (compared to female); men are 1.41 times more likely than women to be outsourced.
  • Live in London, compared to East of England, North East, Scotland, South East, South West
    • People who live in the East of England are 0.59 as likely (i.e., less likely) to be outsourced, compared to people who live in London.
    • People who live in the North East are 0.63 as likely (i.e., less likely) to be outsourced, compared to people who live in London.
    • People who live in Scotland are 0.69 as likely (i.e., less likely) to be outsourced, compared to people who live in London.
    • People who live in the South East of England are 0.61 as likely (i.e., less likely) to be outsourced, compared to people who live in London.
    • People who live in Yorkshire and the Humber are 0.66 as likely (i.e., less likely) to be outsourced, compared to people who live in London.

Based on this GLM, several demographic factors stand out as relevant to outsourcing. These are:

  • Age
  • Gender
  • Ethnicity
  • Arrival time in the UK

In this section we explore each of these characteristics as they relate to ‘outsourcing status’, ‘outsourcing group’ (which are the different ‘subgroups’ of outsourcing: ‘outsourced’, ‘likely agency’, and ‘high indicators’), and income.

Age

Outsourcing status

As shown in the table below, the median age of the outsourced group is 36 , compared to 43 for the not outsourced group.16

However, as the next figure shows, the age distribution is different for the outsourced and high indicator groups compared to the not outsourced and likely agency groups; the outsourced and high indicator groups have higher proportions of younger people (~21-36 year olds).

A t-test indicates that on average, outsourced workers are significantly younger than non-outsourced workers (t(2399.2) = 11.95, p = 0).

Outsourcing group Mean Median Min Max Standard dev.
Not outsourced 42.80 43 16 80 13.08
Outsourced 38.63 36 16 78 13.07

Outsourcing group17

Exploring the age distribution for the different outsourced groups, the high density concentration of slightly younger workers identified above appears to be driven primarily by the ‘outsourced’ and ‘high indicator’ groups. The ‘likely agency’ group follows a similar pattern, but has a lower density peak than the other groups, with a higher density of workers of more advanced ages.

Outsourcing group Mean Median Min Max Standard dev.
Not outsourced 42.80 43 16 80 13.08
Outsourced 38.40 35 16 78 13.09
Likely agency 39.80 38 18 77 13.49
High indicators 38.49 35 18 72 12.55

Ethnicity

Breaking down by ethnicity shows that the outsourced group has a lower proportion of White workers compared to the non-outsourced group. For example, in the outsourced group, the proportion of British (‘White’) workers is 66.91 %, compared to 78.01% in the not outsourced group. Needless to say, this means that there is a correspondingly higher proportion of workers from minority backgrounds in the outsourced group, notably from African (4.1%) and other White backgrounds (5.5, amongst others.18 These differences mean that outsourced workers are 1.87 times more likely to be a member of minority ethnicity than non-outsourced workers.

outsourcing_status Ethnicity_labelled n Frequency N Sum Percentage Ethnicity_short Ethnicity detail
Not outsourced English / Welsh / Scottish / Northern Irish / British 6623 6589.16 8472 8446.64 78.01 English Welsh / Scottish / Northern Irish / British
Not outsourced Irish 111 98.75 8472 8446.64 1.17 Irish NA
Not outsourced Gypsy or Irish Traveller 6 8.32 8472 8446.64 0.10 Gypsy or Irish Traveller NA
Not outsourced Roma 4 5.24 8472 8446.64 0.06 Roma NA
Not outsourced Any other White background 369 385.42 8472 8446.64 4.56 Any other White background NA
Not outsourced White and Black Caribbean 84 53.22 8472 8446.64 0.63 White and Black Caribbean NA
Not outsourced White and Black African 40 20.43 8472 8446.64 0.24 White and Black African NA
Not outsourced White and Asian 61 32.39 8472 8446.64 0.38 White and Asian NA
Not outsourced Any other Mixed / Multiple ethnic background 59 33.60 8472 8446.64 0.40 Any other Mixed Multiple ethnic background
Not outsourced Indian 170 237.76 8472 8446.64 2.81 Indian NA
Not outsourced Pakistani 93 96.09 8472 8446.64 1.14 Pakistani NA
Not outsourced Bangladeshi 47 53.46 8472 8446.64 0.63 Bangladeshi NA
Not outsourced Chinese 70 124.50 8472 8446.64 1.47 Chinese NA
Not outsourced Any other Asian background 57 118.35 8472 8446.64 1.40 Any other Asian background NA
Not outsourced African 232 157.09 8472 8446.64 1.86 African NA
Not outsourced Caribbean 74 56.56 8472 8446.64 0.67 Caribbean NA
Not outsourced Any other Black, Black British, or Caribbean background 36 25.60 8472 8446.64 0.30 Any other Black Black British, or Caribbean background
Not outsourced Arab 12 20.47 8472 8446.64 0.24 Arab NA
Not outsourced Any other ethnic group 13 23.40 8472 8446.64 0.28 Any other ethnic group NA
Not outsourced Don’t think of myself as any of these 7 5.87 8472 8446.64 0.07 Don’t think of myself as any of these NA
Not outsourced Prefer not to say 22 23.54 8472 8446.64 0.28 Prefer not to say NA
Not outsourced NA 282 277.44 8472 8446.64 3.28 NA NA
Outsourced English / Welsh / Scottish / Northern Irish / British 1124 1143.07 1683 1708.36 66.91 English Welsh / Scottish / Northern Irish / British
Outsourced Irish 17 14.86 1683 1708.36 0.87 Irish NA
Outsourced Gypsy or Irish Traveller 2 2.48 1683 1708.36 0.14 Gypsy or Irish Traveller NA
Outsourced Roma 3 2.25 1683 1708.36 0.13 Roma NA
Outsourced Any other White background 80 93.96 1683 1708.36 5.50 Any other White background NA
Outsourced White and Black Caribbean 11 5.53 1683 1708.36 0.32 White and Black Caribbean NA
Outsourced White and Black African 26 14.61 1683 1708.36 0.86 White and Black African NA
Outsourced White and Asian 12 9.13 1683 1708.36 0.53 White and Asian NA
Outsourced Any other Mixed / Multiple ethnic background 23 15.89 1683 1708.36 0.93 Any other Mixed Multiple ethnic background
Outsourced Indian 55 73.98 1683 1708.36 4.33 Indian NA
Outsourced Pakistani 49 53.85 1683 1708.36 3.15 Pakistani NA
Outsourced Bangladeshi 21 23.04 1683 1708.36 1.35 Bangladeshi NA
Outsourced Chinese 12 21.04 1683 1708.36 1.23 Chinese NA
Outsourced Any other Asian background 26 44.80 1683 1708.36 2.62 Any other Asian background NA
Outsourced African 111 69.96 1683 1708.36 4.10 African NA
Outsourced Caribbean 15 15.11 1683 1708.36 0.88 Caribbean NA
Outsourced Any other Black, Black British, or Caribbean background 16 11.79 1683 1708.36 0.69 Any other Black Black British, or Caribbean background
Outsourced Arab 7 12.03 1683 1708.36 0.70 Arab NA
Outsourced Any other ethnic group 3 7.06 1683 1708.36 0.41 Any other ethnic group NA
Outsourced Don’t think of myself as any of these 5 2.94 1683 1708.36 0.17 Don’t think of myself as any of these NA
Outsourced Prefer not to say 4 6.92 1683 1708.36 0.40 Prefer not to say NA
Outsourced NA 61 64.07 1683 1708.36 3.75 NA NA

number ethnicity
1 English / Welsh / Scottish / Northern Irish / British
2 Irish
3 Gypsy or Irish Traveller
4 Roma
5 Any other White background
6 White and Black Caribbean
7 White and Black African
8 White and Asian
9 Any other Mixed / Multiple ethnic background
10 Indian
11 Pakistani
12 Bangladeshi
13 Chinese
14 Any other Asian background
15 African
16 Caribbean
17 Any other Black, Black British, or Caribbean background
18 Arab
19 Any other ethnic group
20 Don’t think of myself as any of these
21 Prefer not to say
22 NA

Below is the same breakdown but with collapsed ethnicity categories19

outsourcing_status Ethnicity_collapsed n Frequency N Sum Percentage
Not outsourced White 6734 6687.91 8472 8446.64 79.18
Not outsourced White other 379 398.98 8472 8446.64 4.72
Not outsourced Black Caribbean 158 109.78 8472 8446.64 1.30
Not outsourced Black African 272 177.52 8472 8446.64 2.10
Not outsourced Mixed other 120 65.99 8472 8446.64 0.78
Not outsourced South Asian 310 387.30 8472 8446.64 4.59
Not outsourced East Asian 70 124.50 8472 8446.64 1.47
Not outsourced Other 381 448.60 8472 8446.64 5.31
Not outsourced Black other 36 25.60 8472 8446.64 0.30
Not outsourced Arab 12 20.47 8472 8446.64 0.24
Outsourced White 1141 1157.93 1683 1708.36 67.78
Outsourced White other 85 98.68 1683 1708.36 5.78
Outsourced Black Caribbean 26 20.64 1683 1708.36 1.21
Outsourced Black African 137 84.58 1683 1708.36 4.95
Outsourced Mixed other 35 25.02 1683 1708.36 1.46
Outsourced South Asian 125 150.87 1683 1708.36 8.83
Outsourced East Asian 12 21.04 1683 1708.36 1.23
Outsourced Other 99 125.78 1683 1708.36 7.36
Outsourced Black other 16 11.79 1683 1708.36 0.69
Outsourced Arab 7 12.03 1683 1708.36 0.70

Comparison of ethnicities indicates that some groups are statistically more likely to be outsourced than others

  • Black African workers are 2.75 times more likely than White workers to be outsourced.
  • Mixed other workers are 2.19 times more likely than White workers to be outsourced.
  • South Asian workers are 2.25 times more likely than White workers to be outsourced.
  • Other workers are 1.62 times more likely than White workers to be outsourced.
  • Black other workers are 2.66 times more likely than White workers to be outsourced.
  • Arab workers are 3.39 times more likely than White workers to be outsourced.

White other, Black Caribbean, and East Asian workers are no more or less likely than White workers to be outsourced.

Paysplit20

Another way of looking at this is to calculate, for each ethnicity, the proportion of workers in each outsourcing group. Doing so yields the plot below.21

Ethnicity Outsourcing group Frequency Sum Percentage
English / Welsh / Scottish / Northern Irish / British Not outsourced 6623 7747 85.49
English / Welsh / Scottish / Northern Irish / British Outsourced 1124 7747 14.51
Irish Not outsourced 111 128 86.72
Irish Outsourced 17 128 13.28
Gypsy or Irish Traveller Not outsourced 6 8 75.00
Gypsy or Irish Traveller Outsourced 2 8 25.00
Roma Not outsourced 4 7 57.14
Roma Outsourced 3 7 42.86
Any other White background Not outsourced 369 449 82.18
Any other White background Outsourced 80 449 17.82
White and Black Caribbean Not outsourced 84 95 88.42
White and Black Caribbean Outsourced 11 95 11.58
White and Black African Not outsourced 40 66 60.61
White and Black African Outsourced 26 66 39.39
White and Asian Not outsourced 61 73 83.56
White and Asian Outsourced 12 73 16.44
Any other Mixed / Multiple ethnic background Not outsourced 59 82 71.95
Any other Mixed / Multiple ethnic background Outsourced 23 82 28.05
Indian Not outsourced 170 225 75.56
Indian Outsourced 55 225 24.44
Pakistani Not outsourced 93 142 65.49
Pakistani Outsourced 49 142 34.51
Bangladeshi Not outsourced 47 68 69.12
Bangladeshi Outsourced 21 68 30.88
Chinese Not outsourced 70 82 85.37
Chinese Outsourced 12 82 14.63
Any other Asian background Not outsourced 57 83 68.67
Any other Asian background Outsourced 26 83 31.33
African Not outsourced 232 343 67.64
African Outsourced 111 343 32.36
Caribbean Not outsourced 74 89 83.15
Caribbean Outsourced 15 89 16.85
Any other Black, Black British, or Caribbean background Not outsourced 36 52 69.23
Any other Black, Black British, or Caribbean background Outsourced 16 52 30.77
Arab Not outsourced 12 19 63.16
Arab Outsourced 7 19 36.84
Any other ethnic group Not outsourced 13 16 81.25
Any other ethnic group Outsourced 3 16 18.75
Don’t think of myself as any of these Not outsourced 7 12 58.33
Don’t think of myself as any of these Outsourced 5 12 41.67
Prefer not to say Not outsourced 22 26 84.62
Prefer not to say Outsourced 4 26 15.38
NA Not outsourced 282 343 82.22
NA Outsourced 61 343 17.78

Ethnicity repeat: Outsourcing groups22

outsourcing_group Ethnicity_labelled n Frequency N Sum Percentage Ethnicity_short Ethnicity detail
Not outsourced English / Welsh / Scottish / Northern Irish / British 6623 6589.16 8472 8446.64 78.01 English Welsh / Scottish / Northern Irish / British
Not outsourced Irish 111 98.75 8472 8446.64 1.17 Irish NA
Not outsourced Gypsy or Irish Traveller 6 8.32 8472 8446.64 0.10 Gypsy or Irish Traveller NA
Not outsourced Roma 4 5.24 8472 8446.64 0.06 Roma NA
Not outsourced Any other White background 369 385.42 8472 8446.64 4.56 Any other White background NA
Not outsourced White and Black Caribbean 84 53.22 8472 8446.64 0.63 White and Black Caribbean NA
Not outsourced White and Black African 40 20.43 8472 8446.64 0.24 White and Black African NA
Not outsourced White and Asian 61 32.39 8472 8446.64 0.38 White and Asian NA
Not outsourced Any other Mixed / Multiple ethnic background 59 33.60 8472 8446.64 0.40 Any other Mixed Multiple ethnic background
Not outsourced Indian 170 237.76 8472 8446.64 2.81 Indian NA
Not outsourced Pakistani 93 96.09 8472 8446.64 1.14 Pakistani NA
Not outsourced Bangladeshi 47 53.46 8472 8446.64 0.63 Bangladeshi NA
Not outsourced Chinese 70 124.50 8472 8446.64 1.47 Chinese NA
Not outsourced Any other Asian background 57 118.35 8472 8446.64 1.40 Any other Asian background NA
Not outsourced African 232 157.09 8472 8446.64 1.86 African NA
Not outsourced Caribbean 74 56.56 8472 8446.64 0.67 Caribbean NA
Not outsourced Any other Black, Black British, or Caribbean background 36 25.60 8472 8446.64 0.30 Any other Black Black British, or Caribbean background
Not outsourced Arab 12 20.47 8472 8446.64 0.24 Arab NA
Not outsourced Any other ethnic group 13 23.40 8472 8446.64 0.28 Any other ethnic group NA
Not outsourced Don’t think of myself as any of these 7 5.87 8472 8446.64 0.07 Don’t think of myself as any of these NA
Not outsourced Prefer not to say 22 23.54 8472 8446.64 0.28 Prefer not to say NA
Not outsourced NA 282 277.44 8472 8446.64 3.28 NA NA
Outsourced English / Welsh / Scottish / Northern Irish / British 742 778.19 1123 1161.08 67.02 English Welsh / Scottish / Northern Irish / British
Outsourced Irish 12 11.23 1123 1161.08 0.97 Irish NA
Outsourced Gypsy or Irish Traveller 2 2.48 1123 1161.08 0.21 Gypsy or Irish Traveller NA
Outsourced Roma 2 1.48 1123 1161.08 0.13 Roma NA
Outsourced Any other White background 63 72.25 1123 1161.08 6.22 Any other White background NA
Outsourced White and Black Caribbean 8 3.87 1123 1161.08 0.33 White and Black Caribbean NA
Outsourced White and Black African 21 11.08 1123 1161.08 0.95 White and Black African NA
Outsourced White and Asian 9 5.80 1123 1161.08 0.50 White and Asian NA
Outsourced Any other Mixed / Multiple ethnic background 15 9.84 1123 1161.08 0.85 Any other Mixed Multiple ethnic background
Outsourced Indian 32 43.96 1123 1161.08 3.79 Indian NA
Outsourced Pakistani 29 32.69 1123 1161.08 2.82 Pakistani NA
Outsourced Bangladeshi 15 17.95 1123 1161.08 1.55 Bangladeshi NA
Outsourced Chinese 7 12.75 1123 1161.08 1.10 Chinese NA
Outsourced Any other Asian background 17 30.35 1123 1161.08 2.61 Any other Asian background NA
Outsourced African 74 47.20 1123 1161.08 4.07 African NA
Outsourced Caribbean 10 10.40 1123 1161.08 0.90 Caribbean NA
Outsourced Any other Black, Black British, or Caribbean background 13 9.46 1123 1161.08 0.81 Any other Black Black British, or Caribbean background
Outsourced Arab 3 4.97 1123 1161.08 0.43 Arab NA
Outsourced Any other ethnic group 1 1.52 1123 1161.08 0.13 Any other ethnic group NA
Outsourced Don’t think of myself as any of these 4 2.54 1123 1161.08 0.22 Don’t think of myself as any of these NA
Outsourced Prefer not to say 1 1.67 1123 1161.08 0.14 Prefer not to say NA
Outsourced NA 43 49.38 1123 1161.08 4.25 NA NA
Likely agency English / Welsh / Scottish / Northern Irish / British 180 174.33 269 266.54 65.41 English Welsh / Scottish / Northern Irish / British
Likely agency Irish 1 0.66 269 266.54 0.25 Irish NA
Likely agency Roma 1 0.77 269 266.54 0.29 Roma NA
Likely agency Any other White background 10 13.33 269 266.54 5.00 Any other White background NA
Likely agency White and Black Caribbean 1 0.69 269 266.54 0.26 White and Black Caribbean NA
Likely agency White and Black African 2 0.91 269 266.54 0.34 White and Black African NA
Likely agency White and Asian 2 2.54 269 266.54 0.95 White and Asian NA
Likely agency Any other Mixed / Multiple ethnic background 5 4.33 269 266.54 1.63 Any other Mixed Multiple ethnic background
Likely agency Indian 8 11.83 269 266.54 4.44 Indian NA
Likely agency Pakistani 8 9.74 269 266.54 3.65 Pakistani NA
Likely agency Bangladeshi 3 2.61 269 266.54 0.98 Bangladeshi NA
Likely agency Chinese 1 1.58 269 266.54 0.59 Chinese NA
Likely agency Any other Asian background 5 8.34 269 266.54 3.13 Any other Asian background NA
Likely agency African 22 12.82 269 266.54 4.81 African NA
Likely agency Caribbean 3 3.39 269 266.54 1.27 Caribbean NA
Likely agency Any other Black, Black British, or Caribbean background 1 1.16 269 266.54 0.44 Any other Black Black British, or Caribbean background
Likely agency Arab 2 3.42 269 266.54 1.28 Arab NA
Likely agency Any other ethnic group 1 3.93 269 266.54 1.48 Any other ethnic group NA
Likely agency Don’t think of myself as any of these 1 0.40 269 266.54 0.15 Don’t think of myself as any of these NA
Likely agency Prefer not to say 1 0.52 269 266.54 0.20 Prefer not to say NA
Likely agency NA 11 9.20 269 266.54 3.45 NA NA
High indicators English / Welsh / Scottish / Northern Irish / British 202 190.56 291 280.74 67.88 English Welsh / Scottish / Northern Irish / British
High indicators Irish 4 2.97 291 280.74 1.06 Irish NA
High indicators Any other White background 7 8.37 291 280.74 2.98 Any other White background NA
High indicators White and Black Caribbean 2 0.97 291 280.74 0.35 White and Black Caribbean NA
High indicators White and Black African 3 2.62 291 280.74 0.93 White and Black African NA
High indicators White and Asian 1 0.78 291 280.74 0.28 White and Asian NA
High indicators Any other Mixed / Multiple ethnic background 3 1.71 291 280.74 0.61 Any other Mixed Multiple ethnic background
High indicators Indian 15 18.18 291 280.74 6.48 Indian NA
High indicators Pakistani 12 11.43 291 280.74 4.07 Pakistani NA
High indicators Bangladeshi 3 2.48 291 280.74 0.88 Bangladeshi NA
High indicators Chinese 4 6.70 291 280.74 2.39 Chinese NA
High indicators Any other Asian background 4 6.10 291 280.74 2.17 Any other Asian background NA
High indicators African 15 9.93 291 280.74 3.54 African NA
High indicators Caribbean 2 1.31 291 280.74 0.47 Caribbean NA
High indicators Any other Black, Black British, or Caribbean background 2 1.16 291 280.74 0.41 Any other Black Black British, or Caribbean background
High indicators Arab 2 3.63 291 280.74 1.29 Arab NA
High indicators Any other ethnic group 1 1.60 291 280.74 0.57 Any other ethnic group NA
High indicators Prefer not to say 2 4.72 291 280.74 1.68 Prefer not to say NA
High indicators NA 7 5.50 291 280.74 1.96 NA NA

number ethnicity
1 English / Welsh / Scottish / Northern Irish / British
2 Irish
3 Gypsy or Irish Traveller
4 Roma
5 Any other White background
6 White and Black Caribbean
7 White and Black African
8 White and Asian
9 Any other Mixed / Multiple ethnic background
10 Indian
11 Pakistani
12 Bangladeshi
13 Chinese
14 Any other Asian background
15 African
16 Caribbean
17 Any other Black, Black British, or Caribbean background
18 Arab
19 Any other ethnic group
20 Don’t think of myself as any of these
21 Prefer not to say
22 NA
outsourcing_group Ethnicity_collapsed n Frequency N Sum Percentage
Not outsourced White 6734 6687.91 8472 8446.64 79.18
Not outsourced White other 379 398.98 8472 8446.64 4.72
Not outsourced Black Caribbean 158 109.78 8472 8446.64 1.30
Not outsourced Black African 272 177.52 8472 8446.64 2.10
Not outsourced Mixed other 120 65.99 8472 8446.64 0.78
Not outsourced South Asian 310 387.30 8472 8446.64 4.59
Not outsourced East Asian 70 124.50 8472 8446.64 1.47
Not outsourced Other 381 448.60 8472 8446.64 5.31
Not outsourced Black other 36 25.60 8472 8446.64 0.30
Not outsourced Arab 12 20.47 8472 8446.64 0.24
Outsourced White 754 789.42 1123 1161.08 67.99
Outsourced White other 67 76.21 1123 1161.08 6.56
Outsourced Black Caribbean 18 14.27 1123 1161.08 1.23
Outsourced Black African 95 58.28 1123 1161.08 5.02
Outsourced Mixed other 24 15.64 1123 1161.08 1.35
Outsourced South Asian 76 94.60 1123 1161.08 8.15
Outsourced East Asian 7 12.75 1123 1161.08 1.10
Outsourced Other 66 85.46 1123 1161.08 7.36
Outsourced Black other 13 9.46 1123 1161.08 0.81
Outsourced Arab 3 4.97 1123 1161.08 0.43
Likely agency White 181 174.99 269 266.54 65.65
Likely agency White other 11 14.10 269 266.54 5.29
Likely agency Black Caribbean 4 4.09 269 266.54 1.53
Likely agency Black African 24 13.74 269 266.54 5.15
Likely agency Mixed other 7 6.88 269 266.54 2.58
Likely agency South Asian 19 24.18 269 266.54 9.07
Likely agency East Asian 1 1.58 269 266.54 0.59
Likely agency Other 19 22.39 269 266.54 8.40
Likely agency Black other 1 1.16 269 266.54 0.44
Likely agency Arab 2 3.42 269 266.54 1.28
High indicators White 206 193.53 291 280.74 68.93
High indicators White other 7 8.37 291 280.74 2.98
High indicators Black Caribbean 4 2.28 291 280.74 0.81
High indicators Black African 18 12.56 291 280.74 4.47
High indicators Mixed other 4 2.50 291 280.74 0.89
High indicators South Asian 30 32.08 291 280.74 11.43
High indicators East Asian 4 6.70 291 280.74 2.39
High indicators Other 14 17.93 291 280.74 6.39
High indicators Black other 2 1.16 291 280.74 0.41
High indicators Arab 2 3.63 291 280.74 1.29

Arrival in the UK

A greater proportion of outsourced workers were not born in the UK (24.06%) compared to non-outsourced workers (13.6%).23 This difference is statistically significant; outsourced workers are 2.01 times more likely to have been born outside the UK than non-outsourced workers.

Looking at the figure below, it appears that no particular arrival time is especially common amongst the outsourced group, with a relatively equal distribution across arrival times (though potentially a slightly larger proportion fall into the ‘Within the last 10 years category’). The is broadly the case for the likely agency and high indicators groups too, though note that amongst likely agency there is a slightly larger proportion of workers who have arrived within the last year.

outsourcing_status BORNUK Frequency Sum Percentage
Not outsourced I was born in the UK 7320 8472 86.40
Not outsourced Within the last year 115 8472 1.36
Not outsourced Within the last 3 years 135 8472 1.59
Not outsourced Within the last 5 years 116 8472 1.37
Not outsourced Within the last 10 years 183 8472 2.16
Not outsourced Within the last 15 years 137 8472 1.62
Not outsourced Within the last 20 years 127 8472 1.50
Not outsourced Within the last 30 years 103 8472 1.22
Not outsourced More than 30 years ago 149 8472 1.76
Not outsourced Prefer not to say 87 8472 1.03
Outsourced I was born in the UK 1278 1683 75.94
Outsourced Within the last year 65 1683 3.86
Outsourced Within the last 3 years 45 1683 2.67
Outsourced Within the last 5 years 40 1683 2.38
Outsourced Within the last 10 years 71 1683 4.22
Outsourced Within the last 15 years 53 1683 3.15
Outsourced Within the last 20 years 44 1683 2.61
Outsourced Within the last 30 years 14 1683 0.83
Outsourced More than 30 years ago 39 1683 2.32
Outsourced Prefer not to say 34 1683 2.02

Paysplit24

Results of a glm suggest that any arrival time positively predicts outsroucing status, apart from ‘within the last 15 years’ and ‘within the last 30 years’. Takeaway is that people having migrated in the past 20 years are more likely to be outsourced than people born in the uk. People having migrated in the past 15 years are less likely to be outsourced if they’re in the low income group, whilst people having migrated in the past 30 years are more likely to be outsourced if they’re in the low income group. I would take caution in interpreting these interaction results in isolation as they may be influence by other factors (e.g., ethnicity).

Note

We should test this with a more complex model that includes covariates

The plot below shows the percentage of outrouced and non-outsourced people by income group and arrival time.

Interaction: Ethnicity and arrival in UK25

For the following ethnicites, more than 50% were born in the UK:

  • NA
  • Prefer not to say
  • Any other Black, Black British, or Caribbean background
  • Caribbean
  • Pakistani
  • Any other Mixed/Multiple ethnic background
  • White and Asian
  • White and Black Caribbean
  • Gypsy or Irish Traveller
  • Irish
  • English/Welsh/Scottish/Northern Irish/British

For the following ethnicities around 50% were born in the UK, with remaining 50% split across arrival times:

  • Don’t think of myself as any of these (second largest proportion within the last 15 years)
  • Any other ethnic group (2nd largest proportion wihtin the last 10 years)
  • Bangladeshi (2nd largest proprotion prefer not to say)
  • Indian (2nd largest proportion wthin the last 3 years)
  • White and Black African (2nd largest proportion within the last 3 years)

For the following ethnicities, less than 50% were born in the UK:

  • Arab
  • African (largest proportion within the last year)
  • Any other Asian background (2nd an 3rd largest proportions are within the last year and within the last 15 years)
  • Chinese (2nd and 3rd largest proportions are within the last 3 years, wihtin the last 15 years)
  • Any other White background (largest proportion within the last 10 years)
  • Roma (largest proportion within the last 5 years)

Exploring the interaction between ethnicity and arrival time shows some significant effects whereby the likelihood of someone being outsourced is different for some combinations of ethnicity and arrival time, compared to White people born in the UK. These groups are:

  • White other and came to UK recently

  • Black African and came to UK recently

  • South Asian and came to UK recently

  • East Asian and came to UK recently

  • White other and came to UK not recently

  • South Asian and came to UK not recently

  • Other ethnicity and prefer not to say (not very informative)

Breaking these effects down shows some interesting patterns in the interaction (see plot below)

For people born in the UK, a person is more likely to be outsourced if they are Black African or South Asian. For all other arrival times there are no differences by ethnicity.

Exploring within each ethnicity (see plot below) shows that arrival time is generally only relevant for three groups:

  • White; a White person is more likely to be outsourced if they came to the UK recently, came to the UK not recently, or preferred not to say (compared to those born in the UK)
  • East Asian; an East Asian person is more likely to be outsourced if they came to the UK not recently (compared to born in the UK, and compared to came to the UK recently)
  • Other; people of ‘Other’ ethnicity are more likely to be outsourced if they came to the UK not recently (compared to born in the UK)

Overall, this pattern of results paints a racialised picture with strong colonial undertones. UK-born Black African and South Asian workers are more likely than UK-born White workers to be outsourced. For these and most other non-White groups, arrival time in the UK is not relevant for predicting outsourcing status; a Black African is just as likely to be outsourced if they arrived in the UK today than if they were born in the UK.

However, the story is not one only of race. Non-UK-born White people are more likely to be outsourced than UK-born White people. For East Asian and people of ‘Other’ ethnicity, outsroucing is more prevalent for those having lived here for 15 years or more, compared to the those born in the UK and those who have arrived more recently. For these groups, arrival time is therefore a relevant factor in the likelihood of being outsourced.

Repeat: Outsourcing groups

Gender26

In terms of Gender, the outsourced group has a larger proportion of males (57.81% compared to 46.4%). This difference is statistically significant; outsourced workers are 1.58 times more likely to have be male than non-outsourced workers.

Paysplit27

A glm finds that income group is a significant factor for females but not for males. Whilst males are more likely than females overall to be outsourced, females are significantly more likely to be outsourced if they are in the low income group than if they are in the not-low income group. The plots below show the percentage of outsourced workers by income group and gender.